Roll



Oct. 18, 1955 D. A. KUNIHOLM ROLL Filed Jan. 8, 1954 IN V EN TOR. 34m: 4 A um/00AM United States Patent ROLL David A. Kuniholm, Orange, Hunt Machine Company, of Massachusetts Mass., assignor to Rodney Orange, Mass., a corporation This invention relates to shaft-supported rolls and more particularly to means for removing a tightly fitted shaft from the end of a roll.

The present invention relates to rolls of metal, wood, rubber, or other material. Such rolls are used in many industries and are made with various surface configurations for a variety of uses. In making such rolls it is common practice to have stub shafts permanently set in the roll body by a force, drive or shrink fit commonly termed an interference fit so that the shafts will be rigidly connected and functionally integral with the rolls. The terms force fit, shrink fit and interference fit as used in this application have the meanings commonly recognized in the art as explained on pages 922 and 923 of Marks Mechanical Engineers Handbook (Fourth Edition) published 1941 by McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc.

The principal item of cost of a roll is usually in the construction of the roll body and this roll body usually has a relatively long life. The shaft, however, is smaller than the roll body and is subjected to greater stresses, wear and possibility of damage so that frequently the shaft is broken or so worn as to be unuseable while there is still a long period of useful life remaining in the roll itself.

In many cases, however, when the shaft is worn or broken the entire roll is discarded because of the difliculty and expense involved in repairing or replacing the shaft. Under present practice, it is necessary to drill or bore out the worn or broken shaft and replace it with a new shaft. This is a diflicult, expensive procedure requiring skilled mechanics and expensive equipment, neither of which is ordinarily available in the usual mill where rolls are used. It is ordinarily necessary for the user to return the entire roll to the manufacturer for shaft replacement thus requiring a long period of shut down while the roll is out and also involving shipping and handling costs. This difiiculty has long been recognized and many expedients have been tried without success in an effort to provide a roll in which the shafts were at once firmly secured and easily removable.

I have found that these difliculties can be overcome and a roll provided having stub shafts which may be easily and readily removed by relatively unskilled labor with simple equipment commonly found in mills. Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a roll having stub shafts firmly and securely mounted therein in such a way that they may be easily and quickly removed.

It is also an object to provide a novel means for removing a shaft which is effective regardless of the nature or location of the point of failure of the shaft.

It is a further object to provide a novel means for removing a shaft from a roll head which makes possible the replacement of the shaft by a standard shaft of the same size.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds in connection with accompanying drawing in which the single figure is a fragmentary sectional view of a roll and shaft assembly embodying the invention.

Referring now to the drawing, 10 indicates generally a. roll of the type which is particularly adapted for use in cloth treating or finishing apparatus such as squeezing, wringing, washing or dyeing apparatus.

The roll body 11 may be of different shapes for different purposes but is often generally cylindrical in shape and may be solid or hollow. In the embodiment shown, the main body portion of the roll 11 is cylindrical and hollow having at each end an end surface 12 and an inner surface 13. Each end of the body 11 is closed by a head 14 which is provided with an annular end flange 15 of the same diameter as the body 11 and a central body portion 16 extending into roll body 11 with close fit, such as a drive, force, or shrink fit. The heads 14 are forced into body 11 until the inner surface 17 of flanges 15 abut the end of the body 11. The heads may then be secured in place by welding, or by bolts or other suitable means to prevent relative movement between the body and the head. The body and the head may be of metal, or other suitable material depending upon the service requirements of the particular installation and the body and head may be of the same or different materials. Each head 14 is provided with a central recess 18 in axial alignment with the body 11. A shaft 20 is forced into the head 14 with a suitable drive, shrink, force or other interference fit. The shaft, in its assembled position, is usually spaced from the bottom of the recess 18 forming a chamber 22.

A central drilled passage 24 extends axially through the shaft 20 and connects the chamber 22 with the outer exposed end of the shaft. After installation of the shaft, the outer end of the passage 24 is closed with a fitting 26 for connection to a grease gun or fluid pressure device.

If, after a period of continued use, the shaft 20 becomes unserviceable because of breakage or excessive wear, it may be quickly and easily removed from the head 14 by the forcing of non-compressible fluid such as grease or oil into the space 22 under pressure through passage 24. Conventional high pressure grease guns or other lubricating equipment may be conveniently used for this purpose. By reason of the high pressure existing in the chamber 22 which acts over the relatively large end surface of the shaft, an outwardly directed force may be readily established which is of sufiicient magnitude to force the shaft 20 smoothly out of the head 14. It Will be noted that this operation may be effected without damage to the recess 18. In prior removal operations performed by boring or drilling, scoring of the Walls of recess 18 was, in most cases, practically unavoidable. This necessitated the refinishing of recess 18 to a slightly larger diameter requiring the subsequent installation of a slightly larger non-standard shaft.

A particular advantage of the invention resides in the fact that it may be incorporated in conventional rolls without modification of the roll body or head.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention provides a means for simply, quickly, and inexpensively removing a damaged shaft from the roll head, thus allowing the use of the roll throughout its full service life. Because of the simplicity of the arrangement, the removal of the shaft may be accomplished by unskilled personnel using equipment ordinarily available in a mill. Further, because of a substantial reduction of the time needed to efiect replacement of a worn or broken shaft the length of the out-of-service period is minimized.

While the invention has been herein described and illustrated with reference to a roll particularly adapted for use in cloth treating or finishing apparatus it will be understood that the invention has equal application to 'ice , without departing from the spirit (yr-essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim are therefore intended to be embraced therein. 7

What is desired to be claimed and secured by United States Letters Patent is: p

A roll and shaft assembly comprising: a hollow cylindrical roll body; a roll head secured at the end of said ference fit, the end of said shaft being spaced'from the body, said head having a cylindrical recess extending inward from one end thereof along the axis of said body;

' a cylindrical shaft positioned in said recess with an interbottom of said recess, said shaft having'a central passage extending therethrough to the bottom of said recess; and means for connecting the outer end of said passage to a source of fluid under pressure to force said shaft out of said recess.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kuniholm Mar. 9, 1954 

